Title: Riding the Roller Coaster (Part XI)
Author: ficeler37
Note: Don't own Mai-Hime. I'll let Sunrise take the credit.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1431

Summary: Spray-on tattoo - part 1.

A/N: This spray-on tattoo arc is going to be a two parter. Didn't expect it to be so long. What will happen when a random third person appears in front of our favorite girls? Well, read and find out. (wink)

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It is about 2 pm in the afternoon, and the burning sun had been doing a good job of transforming Shizuru's outfit back to its dry state for the past hour. As the two girls wander around the park leisurely after lunch, a male voice suddenly catches their attention.

"Good afternoon, lovely ladies! Would you like to get a spray-on tattoo? Seeing how gorgeous you two are, I'll even give you each a tattoo for the price of one. How does that sound?" A decent looking young man in his late 20's waves the spray gun in his hand enthusiastically while pointing at the different designs being displayed at the front of his stall.

The ice princess eyes the young man wearily and starts pulling the chestnut haired girl away from his stall by taking a hold of her hand. A fake tattoo? How old does he think we are? Five? Plus, this guy is not getting his hands on Shizuru. No, sir. "C'mon, Shizuru. Let's go." A squeeze from her hand makes her turn around reluctantly. Ok, what now. Shizu …ahhhhhhh …

The Kyoto woman has put her acting skills into practice once again. This time she decides to execute her bratty shy girl attack on the defenseless Natsuki. With slightly flushed cheeks, Shizuru uses her free hand to push some of her tresses behind her ears elegantly while tipping her head down a little to stare at the blue haired girl with timid eyes. "Does Natsuki want to get matching tattoos with me? Please say yes" The corner of her lips raises faintly as she observes the quickly reddening cheeks of her love.

Damnit, how can I say no to her when she looks at me like that? But getting matching tattoos is soooo embarrassing. People are probably going to think that we are dating. Her reluctance towards the idea of them dating does not stem from a sense of abnormality, but rather fear of the unknown. Having shut out people for the most part of her life, the blue haired ex-hime continues to view the idea of loving and being loved as foreign and unspeakable even after the Festival.

"Shizuru, if you want to get a tattoo, go ahead. I'll wait for you. Sorry, I'm just not so sure about getting a matching one myself …" Still holding onto the Kyoto woman's hand, the younger girl's voice becomes softer and softer as she senses the disappointing glint reflected in the crimson eyes.

If the blue haired girl had screamed NO to her face with flushed cheeks, Shizuru would have made a joke then cajoled her into getting the tattoo with her. But a reply with such an apologetic gaze makes the older girl feel bad about trying to change the younger girl's mind. "Oh … that's ok, Natsuki. I understand. Would you come over and pick out a tattoo with me then?" The crimson eyed girl attempts to put on a natural smile in order to mask the tremendous sense of defeat in her heart.

While the girls are flipping through the thick book filled with different tattoo designs, a group of rose tattoos immediately enthralls the chestnut haired girl. Each rose is intricately designed so that a letter from the English alphabet is embedded into the outline of the rose. "Excuse me, sir. May I get a blue tattoo with that design please?" Shizuru points at the rose that has an N embedded into it to the young man.

"Sure, miss. Where would you like to have this tattoo?" The young man unabashedly checks out the Kyoto woman's figure as he grabs for the blue spray gun. "With a face like yours and a body like that, the tattoo will look good anywhere you want to put it."

Sometimes a look can convey more than a thousand swear words do. The ice princess gives the guy a look that basically says 'if-you-don't-shut-up-I-am-going-to-cut-off-that-tongue-of-yours', and puts an arm possessively around the slim waist of her chestnut haired friend. Why do I feel like poking his eyes out with my bare hands?

Woah, jealous girlfriend alert. The young man quickly diverts his gaze towards the spray gun in his hand. Who knows what the girlfriend would do to me if I have to spray the tattoo on somewhere intimate? The clever park worker quickly adds, "I got a couple customers who got tattoos on the back of their hands today. You know, in most countries, it's illegal to get a real tattoo there because the hand has so many blood vessels. But since this is sprayed on, you might as well take advantage of it." The hand should be alright …

"That sounds like a great idea. I think I'll do just that." Shizuru smiles professionally at the young man. This guy is not an idiot after all. She brings her hand to her waist and gives the blue haired girl's hand a light squeeze before extending it forward to receive the tattoo.

Just as the park worker is about to grab onto the extended hand, he feels another icy glare being shot out of the clear green eyes. Jesus, I get it. "Uhm, miss. You can just put your hand on the table here." Then, the now extremely cautious young man puts a plastic cut-out design on the back of Shizuru's hand and begins to apply the paint on top of the plastic card.

In a matter of seconds, a beautiful blue rose materializes on the Kyoto woman's smooth skin. The park worker snatches a water spray bottle nearby, sprays some water on a napkin, and wipes away the extra paint that mars the design. "All done, miss."

As Shizuru reaches into her purse to pay for the tattoo, someone else's hand has already shoved money towards the young man who still has a spray gun in his hand.

"It's on me." The blue haired girl blushes slightly. AHHHH! I can't stand the thought of him touching her hand again. What is wrong with me?

The chestnut haired girl puts her newly tattooed hand on her cheek and gives her 'sugar mama' a sweet smile. "Thank you, Natsuki." I wonder what the special occasion is. Maybe she feels guilty about making me eat that pizza. But I thought the ice cream trick was a pretty good comeback already …Speaking of food, Shizuru suddenly feels a pain in her stomach. Oops, I guess my digestive system is rejecting the grease in the end. "Natsuki, I need to stop by the bathroom. Can you wait for me here?"

"Yea, sure. Are you alright? Do you want me to come with you?" The blue haired girl eyes her friend worriedly.

"Ara, I'm so happy that Natsuki misses me so much that she cannot bear a second without me by her side." A teasing grin surfaces on the porcelain skin.

"What? Who is missing you now? Go! I'll be here when you come back." The easily embarrassed girl turns her head to the side and crosses her arms in front of her chest. But as the older girl leaves her side, she cannot help but follow the voluptuous departing figure with a longing gaze.

As soon as the chestnut haired beauty walks away far enough to be out of earshot, the decent looking guy turns to Natsuki with a spray gun in his hand. "Hey, do you want to get a tattoo that matches your girlfriend's? My offer still stands. I'm a man of my words, so you can get it for free."

"HUH?" The blue haired girl is jerked out of her reverie by the word 'GIRLFRIEND'. "What the hell are you talking about? Why would you think that she's my …" At first her words were being screamed out in anger, but the deeply blushing beauty soon decreased her volume, and was even unable to finish her sentence in the end.

"C'mon, it's so obvious. Will a regular friend be so possessive? Jesus, I seriously thought that you were going to hurt me back there. Oh yea, sorry for hitting on your girl earlier. Didn't know that she's taken." The young man shrugs his shoulders casually and watches the blue haired girl's face turn redder by the second.

"But she's just a friend." Natsuki replies softly with a confused look on her face, not sure whether she is talking to the guy or is just trying to convince herself. Was I really being possessive towards Shizuru? I thought it was normal for friends to look out for each other …

TBC.